AlmaLinux OS 9 must ensure account locks persist across reboots.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-269154 | ALMA-09-008270 | SV-269154r1050036_rule | Medium |
| Description |
| By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the account. Having account locks persist across reboots ensures that a locked account is only unlocked by an administrator. If the locks did not persist across reboots, an attacker could reboot the system to continue brute force attacks against the accounts on the system. The default /var/run/faillock directory is cleared upon reboot and should not be used. |
| STIG | Date |
| CloudLinux AlmaLinux OS 9 Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-22 |
Details
| Check Text (C-73185r1047838_chk) |
| Verify the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file is configured to use a nondefault faillock directory to ensure its contents persist after reboot with the following command: $ grep "dir =" /etc/security/faillock.conf dir = /var/log/faillock If the "dir" option is set to the default /var/run/faillock directory, is missing, or is commented out, this is a finding. |
| Fix Text (F-73086r1049218_fix) |
| Configure AlmaLinux OS 9 to maintain the contents of the faillock directory after a reboot. Add/modify the "/etc/security/faillock.conf" file to match the following line: dir = /var/log/faillock |